For discussion by the VA BIO Foundation Board

Virginia BIO Foundation

February 19, 2014 Board Meeting

Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc.,

737 N. 5th St., Richmond, VA 23219 Ph: 804-343-2718

12:00 noon – 1:50 pm

Agenda and Workshop Materials

Proposed Agenda

  1. Welcome and Call to Order
  2. Determination of Quorum
  3. Adoption of Proposed Agenda
  1. Consent Agenda
  2. Minutes of November 1, 2012 Telephonic Board Meeting
  3. Minutes of December 6, 2012 Telephonic Board Meeting
  1. Staff Report
  2. Financial Statement through Dec 31, 2012 and Form 990
  3. Program Report
  1. Board discussion re priorities, plans and next steps
  1. Discuss what we learned from calls to experts and stakeholders inside and outside Virginia
  1. Prioritize our actions
  1. Develop a written plan of action for engagement
  1. Next steps
  2. Identify help/resources
  3. Plan fund-raising campaign

Primary Takeaways from Due Diligence Calls and Meetings

  • Other state BIO organizations do:
  • Entrepreneur training
  • Teacher professional development
  • Student mentoring
  • Curricula development
  • Internships
  • Workforce development
  • Community outreach for awareness
  • Have full time STEM employees to drive and deliver programming
  • Some BIO organizations have teaching materials, tho many are in poor shape
  • Engage at the middle school level – sweet spot
  • All schools desperately want to engage with businesses for hands on experiences, mentors (both from teacher and student perspectives)
  • Schools need better teaching materials
  • Schools need funding for teachers and students to attend meetings and workshops
  • Create a resource library for the schools
  • CIISP internship infrastructure at ODU with NASA funds– but what will we gain?
  • Virginia
  • Reduced emphasis on science for math and English (Megan Healy)
  • 7th grade career path document is required of ea student
  • Cville/Albemarle
  • Math, Engineering and Science Academy (MESA)
  • UVA HooSter STEM summer class program for HS students
  • Monticello HS Health and Medical Sciences Academy
  • Piedmont Futures Career Day expo
  • Science fairs and sponsorships
  • Tech tours
  • GMU Aspiring Scientist Summer Intern Program (JMU, VT have something similar?)
  • UVA Buford Mid. School – Lab School for Advanced Manufacturing Tech(why not bio?)
  • Summer science camps

(From the Foundation Website) Virginia Bioscience Foundation (formerly known as The Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation) develops and promotes programs designed to encourage young students before they choose specific careers, to appreciate and participate in the challenging work of math and science so that they do not preclude subsequent career choices in the biosciences.

Bioscience Skills Workforce Information. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation will be the clearinghouse for the latest information on the skill sets needed for the bioscience workforce. This information is critical to ensure that community colleges and research institutions have the most up to date information for curriculum development.

Bioscience Educators Training Programs. Science teachers benefit from interaction with those on the cutting edge of bioscience research. Virginia Bioscience Foundation sponsored summer programs will help high school and middle school educators keep pace with the latest developments in the biological sciences.

Outreach Initiatives for Minority and Female Students. The number of young Americans undertaking math and science studies shrinks each year. To maintain our national competitiveness, innovative programs to help reach out to under represented groups, such as minorities and women, are essential to fill the jobs of tomorrow. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation initiatives to increase participation are targeted at students from middle school through post-secondary institutions.

“Biotech-in-a-Box” Program. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation is dedicated to funding an expansion of the Virginia “Biotech-in-a-Box” program operated by Virginia Tech. The program, in operation since 1994, loans out 30 biotech education kits to schools across the Commonwealth. During the 2004-2005 school year, the program served 16,000 students at 100 schools statewide. However, there are not enough resources to cover the demand for the program. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation has provided resources to manufacture at least three to four additional kits for distribution.

State Science and Engineering Awards. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation judges and sponsors monetary awards for the best projects in bioscience fields to high school students competing in the annual State Science and Engineering Fairs.

“Biotechnology Bonanza” Middle School Career Awareness Initiative. The Virginia Bioscience Foundation is working with potential partners in re-launching a successful week-long summer program for nearly sixty middle school students designed to help kids explore careers and opportunities in the field of biotechnology. Each day the students heard from professionals working in various aspects of the Life Sciences, performed educational experiments, and took field trips to related businesses and laboratories. The program ran successfully for three years until the government funding was eliminated for the project.

Matching funds for bioscience internships. Learning how to apply bioscience research to the commercial world is a critical area of need. There are not enough internship opportunities or funds available to reach a critical mass of students. To help address this challenge, the Virginia Bioscience Foundation is funding internships at biotechnology companies each summer with matching grants to encourage biotechnology companies to provide workforce education internships to university students and/or teachers each summer.

Objectives of Virginia BIO Foundation

  1. Take actions that will provide more and better trained candidates for bioscience jobs in Virginia
  1. Stimulate student interest in STEM careers
  1. ______
  1. ______

Action Plans

Objective 1. Take actions that will provide more and better trained candidates for bioscience jobs in Virginia

Short Term

  1. Recruit high business participation throughout the state to offer meaningful summer and mid-term internships at college and high school levels
  2. ______
  3. ______

Mid Term

  1. Provide classroom experiences at the community and primary college level that develop applied skills using volunteer faculty from industry
  2. ______
  3. ______

Long term

  1. Work with community and primary colleges to develop relevant skill-building curricula
  2. ______
  3. ______

Objective 2. Stimulate student interest in STEM careers (K-12)

Short Term

  1. Focus on the teachers
  2. Engage businesses and schools in pilot programs to expose teachers to applications of science in the business world
  3. Continue sponsorship of science fairs etc.
  4. ______
  5. ______

Mid Term

  1. Set up a network of regional BIO STEM leaders to discuss best practices and create enduring programs
  2. Create a mentorship program for teachers and students
  3. ______
  4. ______

Long Term

  1. Influence curricula
  2. Involve industry in teaching or participating in ongoing classes
  3. ______
  4. ______

Objective 3. ______

______

Short Term

  1. ______

B. ______

Mid Term

  1. ______
  1. ______

Long term

  1. ______
  1. ______

Objective 4. ______

______

Short Term

  1. ______

B. ______

Mid Term

  1. ______
  1. ______

Long term

  1. ______
  1. ______

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